CAIRO — Following the failure of the Kinshasa talks — which according to Egyptian officials may have been the last chance to resolve the outstanding issues between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele addressed April 10 Egypt and Sudan in two letters, calling on them to form a mechanism to exchange data about the measures to implement the next stage of filling the GERD reservoir in July and August.
As per Bekele’s letter, establishing a mechanism for data sharing will constitute a good opportunity to build trust among the three countries. His letter included a notification of holding some technical tests for the lower gates of the dam by releasing water amounting to up to 1 billion cubic meters to prepare for the second stage of filling.